With eye on Assembly poll, political parties try to encash on water crisis, BJP leads the charge

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, June 14

As the National Capital reels under a water crisis, the Opposition parties especially the BJP, have aimed their guns at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for February next year.

The AAP is caught up in a range of issues from battling a number of court cases against its leaders with its CM in jail to the water crisis to the setback in the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll.

Since May this year, AAP has been accusing BJP-led Haryana Government of stopping the capital’s share of Yamuna water which has resulted in reduction of water level in Wazirabad.

The capital went to vote on May 25, and on June 4, when the results were declared, BJP for the third consecutive time since 2014 won all the seven seats leaving AAP red-faced. The AAP and the Congress which were contesting under the INDIA bloc alliance received a major setback.

The BJP has gone full thottle on its anti-AAP tirade with its leaders accusing the government of mismanagement and playing a blame game. Targeting AAP on administrative mismanagement leading to the severe water crisis, newly elected BJP MP from New Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj said, “In March, IMD had predicted that Delhi will face scorching heat. An all-party meeting should have been called, attention should have been paid to the infrastructure of the Delhi Jal Board and pipes repaired but they did not do anything”.

“AAP government has no intention to work. More than 40 per cent water is being wasted in Delhi, what are they doing about it? The water crisis is not natural, it has been created by AAP,” she added.

Even the Congress which was in alliance with AAP for the General Elections has protested against the ongoing water crisis. Meanwhile, AAP Delhi State Convenor Gopal Rai had announced last week that the party would be going alone for the Assembly elections. He had said, “The alliance was only for the Lok Sabha elections.”

NDA ally Janata Dal United (JDU) has also dived into the political blame game to criticise AAP. Sanjay Kumar Jha, a JD(U) MP said, “It’s heartbreaking to see Delhiites struggle for water in areas like Chanakyapuri. The water crisis is a clear testament to AAP’s failure to provide basic amenities despite being in power for nearly a decade”. The AAP is currently on the backfoot with party supremo and Delhi CM lodged in Tihar jail, No. 2 in the party Manish Sisodia has been in jail since February 2023 and No. 3 Satyendar Jain is also behind bars in a money laundering case.